Payment delay costly for cooperative
Marion County Special Education Cooperative Clerk Danette Eis reported to the board June 20 that money had to be withdrawn to cover expenses because school districts did not provide tax transfers in a timely manner.
Eis said school districts are required, by policy, to provide the payments within five days of receipt but instead districts held the money 12-14 days, until the next board meeting.
The late payments resulted in the cooperative's checking account being short and a withdrawal of $2,400 from a CD was made.
Cooperative director Chris Cezar said school districts should be able to transfer those funds without board approval since it is a budgeted transfer. Eis said if the payments had been sent in the proper time frame, there would not have been a shortfall and the need to withdraw from the CD.
In other business:
— Cooperative office staff will receive four percent pay increases of approximately $1,000 each for the coming school year.
With the pay increase, new paraprofessional positions would be paid $7.92 per hour. Cezar said he checked with other school districts and found Marion County paid less. He said he wanted to increase the starting wage to $8 per hour. He also wanted to check into the possibility of providing health insurance.
— Doe Ann Hague, representative of USD 398, Peabody-Burns, was appointed as acting chairman for the next board meeting at 7 p.m. July 16. A chairman will be selected at that meeting.
